Illyria

…to Ben’s 30th birthday party at the Whiteinch Centre, 7.30pm on Saturday 3rd of March. There may be dancing, if the ceilidh band actually works out! Guy Incognito has offered to contribute his skills too!
What to wear: anything except nothing!

What to bring: cash for the bar.

Hope to see you there!

I’m at 33 weeks out of 40 now, and I haven’t shared very much about my experience as yet - so here are some of the highs and lows…

Highs:

Being kicked and tickled by a very wriggly person indeed - its happening as I type, just above my tummy button!

Hearing the heartbeat and going for scans.

Anticipating meeting the little one for the first time - I can’t wait!!!

Free stuff - the Boots club is the best! They send you vouchers all the time! Today I got foundation from No 7, a changing bag, a baby bathwash, wipes and all I had to do was buy a bag of nappies.

Window shopping for cute stuff!

Choosing names - I must have looked at thousands though!

Maternity leave starting in three weeks - wey hey!

Generous lovely people being nice to you!

Lows:

People going ‘You’re tiny, aren’t you?’ like I’m starving the infant or something. I’m starting to get really annoyed. I don’t go up to people and say, ‘You’re so wrinkly/smelly/sweaty’ etc. I can’t help it, okay?

Physical drawbacks - mildly irritating nosebleeds, backache, cramp and acid reflux, sometimes causing sleep deprivation. Not as bad as the four months of fairly relentless nausea, however. SOOO glad that’s over.
General grogginess, losing your memory and the ability to think. Depending on who you listen to, you may or may not get this back.

Trying to find nice cheap clothes that don’t fall down or bobble.

None of the above really detract from the loveliness much - you seem to get a kind of constant calm endorphine that overrides it all.

*Smile*

I don’t normally blog about the day to day difference I feel being a Christian makes, but I just can’t keep this inside anymore - and it’s only a tiny part of how loved I feel! I hope it makes sense! And expresses my enormous gratitude to all!
Over the last few months, and this one in particular, we have had so many unexpected gifts that are specific answers to prayer.

This morning, Ben got £100 for Mozambique from an acquaintance at work!

The post arrived with an anonymous gift for a Valentine’s meal in the Ashoka!

My mum took me to Mothercare and bought me a pile of baby things! And helped me paint!
Two weeks ago we had a cheque from a relative for £500 for Mozambique.

The week before we had a cheque from another relative to help us get the bathroom done.

About the same time, we got our baby travel system, feeding equipment, clothes and toys from friends at church.

At Christmas we got these beautiful handmade gifts from Ben’s parents:

Before Christmas we got a cradle, cot, rocking horse, high chair and stair gates from the woman next door, and I got about £1000 of craft stuff to help start a new business from friend’s aunt!

And lots more! We literally are struggling with room for it all!

…see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it… Mal 3;10

It is such a gorgeous day today - and I have the afternoon off all to myself!!!! I have worked really hard all week and now I have finished my prelim marking! Hooray!
This morning I went and spent my V V Rouleaux voucher!

I adore the bird - I might try and make it into a mobile for the baby!

Gorgeous yarn I got from Kyle&Charlotte and Naomi:

And my first experiment in making my own felt, with some sparkly nylon!

It reminds me of the coast where I grew up. Beware - some or all of these items may appear in a present for you…